Extra Dark Chocolate by Dove

A couple of days ago, my brother and mother brought home a whole bunch of dark chocolate bars. Gifts from a balik-bayan patient of theirs. Lucky them! One is Cadbury Old Gold Dark Chocolate (haven't had the pleasure of trying this one yet but I'll keep you posted), the rest bears the mark of my current favorite chocolate brand, Dove.

Since then, I had been plotting to bake something out of it (I have realized that I enjoy my chocolate more as an ingredient in my baking concoctions than having my chocolate straight up). Use it to make chocolate chunk cookies perhaps, or maybe some brownies, how about a rich, moist chocolate cake?

Imagine biting into the silkiness of Dove chocolate in your cookie... now isn't that something to pine for?

Until yesterday, opportunity presented itself. I had left-over cream cheese frosting from the batch of red velvet cupcakes I made for some of my friends who came over the office to visit. I didn't want to let all that wonderful frosting go to waste so I decided to make chocolate cupcakes. I melted some of the Dove Extra Dark Chocolate, stirred it into the cupcake batter and- viola!- instant chocolate heaven.

Dove Dark Chocolate Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Shavings

The sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting, while not usual, paired surprisingly well with the chocolate cupcake. For an extra treat, I shaved some Dove Extra Dark Chocolate and sprinkled them on top of the frosted cupcake. Take it from me, it's bliss!